Workforce Development

SMAAD Group

Discipline:

Allied health professionals, Nursing and midwifery

Theme:

Workforce development

Overview:

Trained anaesthetic assistant are essential for the safe delivery of anaesthesia. Skilled anaesthetic assistance in Scotland is provided by anaesthetic nurses or by operating department practitioners. The education and training for operating department practitioners has been established over many years but the core competencies required by anaesthetic nurses were not defined until 2006 when the Core Competencies for Anaesthetic Assistants document was published by NHS Education Scotland.

The Scottish Multiprofessional Anaesthetic Assistants Development Group (SMAAD Group) was set up by NHS Education Scotland and the Advisory Board to the Royal College of Anaesthetists in Scotland in 2006 to address the issues of endorsement of externally provided nursing courses, the process of certification of completion of in-house education, maintain a register of all engaging in the process and undertake reviews of documentation.

A portfolio document was developed to make it easier to define and record the achievement of each competency and to maintain evidence of continuing professional development. This portfolio has been reviewed and republished in June 2012. Anaesthetic assistants working through the 2007 portfolio should have achieved all competencies by December 2012. New entrants should use the 2012 portfolio which is an interactive pdf document. Anaesthetic assistants with certificates of competency predating December 2012 should download the pdf with changes in the portfolio and achieve these reviewed competencies during their continuing professional development.

Nationally recognised certificates of completion (doc) of the core competencies and appropriate specialist competencies are provided by the SMAAD Group following the process approved by the Council of the Royal College of Anaesthetists, supported by NHS Education Scotland.

This website has been developed to provide means of communication across Scotland between anaesthetists and anaesthetic assistants involved in the delivery of education and training for skilled anaesthetic assistance. Feedback on further development will be warmly welcomed.